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[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

In light of the statements released by the former Averno team members (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fnb9-W8yLtjN9VeyeN3Uo3UwMzjmYSLF5G_vcqz0Hag/mobilebasic),  I've decided to distance myself from the project.  I do not support M&J's actions and I stand behind the people who came forward about the problem within Averno.

This blog isn't gonna change much , but you won't see anymore new averno content. All previously posted stuff will stay up and I want to thank you all for the love you've given them, but right now I can't continue creating new content for this fandom.

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

how fucking dare anyone see that the person who made the orange and pink lesbian flag is struggling to literally just SURVIVE and be like “ummm actually she doesn’t think ace people are queer so, don’t give her money :(“ like i hope somebody literally smashes your fingers with a hammer

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Hey! Remember when I said I something When Sparks Fly related? Well it's this

Yes! A fanfic featuring the When Sparks Fly cast at camp!

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

why hello there, remember me?

So camp is starting soon and I'm very excited. I'm also maybe planning something when sparks fly related. And while you may not necessarily have to have read this fanfic, it'll give you context (also I want you to read this, so there).

This has all been a very long winded way of telling you I'm gonna be reposting this fic on to AO3 leading up to camp.

2 Chapters a day, let's do this

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Here’s one good thing to come out of 2020:

Paleontologists completed a life-sized replica of Sue, the most complete T. Rex ever found.

And she is freaking GORGEOUS!

As I read more about this beauty, I found out some new details regarding things I thought I previously knew about the beast that was Tyrannosaurus Rex, and I’m going to share them with you.

First, and most obvious, her size:

This is nothing new, we all figured T. Rex was big, but I for one never stopped to consider exactly how big it was. Nobody ever really knows what to imagine when they read about something the size of a whale that walked around and ate everything it could kill. 

Speaking of eating things, I just want to remind you all that T. Rex had–by miles–the strongest bite of any terrestrial animal living or dead, somewhere around six and a half tons of force. That’s over six times greater than the current estimate of what Allosaurus was capable of, and three times what was delivered by the highest measured reading of the living title holder–the estuarine crocodile. It didn’t have to waste time swinging its head open-mouthed like Saurophaganax for a little extra oomph, or grow fancy serrated teeth like Carcharodontosaurus to cut pieces out of its prey. It opted for the simplest approach: get its mouth around something and crush it to death; imagine the full weight of an elephant on whatever was between this thing’s jaws.

“How did it find something to eat?” I hear you asking. “It can’t see something if it doesn’t move, right?”

Listen, I love Jurassic Park too, but that’s a big crock of shit.

Notice how both her eyes face forward. That gives her binocular vision (the ability to focus both eyes on one target, like you and I). More importantly it means she has impeccable depth perception due to overlapping fields of vision from each, large, eyeball. Researchers agree that T. Rex not only had incredible vision, but that it was probably better than most modern animals–including eagles, hawks, and owls–and that she could likely spot something three and a half miles away. If something that big can see that well, it doesn’t matter if you move or not, she’d be able to tell if it was an animal trying to hide or a piece of vegetation. So pray she isn’t hungry if she lays eyes on you. And even if by some miracle she didn’t see you, she’d still smell you. 

If she decided you looked tasty, you probably wouldn’t hear her coming as much as you’d feel her. Modern science indicates that T. Rex didn’t roar like in Jurassic Park, but rather bellowed or maybe even hissed like crocodilians. If she were on to you, you’d most likely feel this sense of unease creep up your spine as a low-pitched rumble in the air permeated through you. You wouldn’t know what it was or where it was coming from until you hear her footfalls. By then it’s too late–you could try to run but she’d probably catch you. There’s plenty on YouTube that reconstructs what T. Rex may have sounded like, and it’s legitimately haunting.  

To wrap all of this up, the one bit of good that came out of the cursed year that is 2020 is that this wonderful child of science and art came into the world, and reaffirmed my respect and admiration for the eight ton slab of muscle and teeth that is this magnificent creature.

…and it is nothing if not magnificent.

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Chapter 25

"Where are we going?" Peggy asked as Alex led her somewhere. It felt damp wherever they were. "Are we in the tunnels?" 

 "It's a surprise." Alex said. After a few minutes, they stopped. "Okay. Keep your eyes closed." Peggy nodded and felt Alex untie the blindfold. "Alright, open your eyes." Peggy did and found they were in her dorm. She looked up at the ceiling.

 "Whoa." It was amazing. Anglerfish and jellyfish formed the silhouette of ogopogo. Octopus tentacles dripped down onto the walls. Bubbles formed different words in dreamspeak.

 "It gets better." Alex said, turning off the lights, revealing the bubbles and eyes of each creature were painted with glow in the dark paint. 

  "Alex, this is great!" She said, hugging Alex. "When did you do this?"

  "Remember when Max roped you into making my birthday cake?" Peggy laughed. "Now come on, we're gonna be late for the party at DHS."

 "Right on time lovebirds." Max said when Peggy and Alex found him. The Birdcage was in its full technicolour glory. "My sister is late, shockingly. You two didn't have anything to do with that?" Peggy looked at Alex. They exchanged a smile.

 "Now why would you say that?" Just then Avery stormed into view. She was still dressed in the outfit she had worn all day, a little less put together than when they had last seen her and held a bundle of tie dyed cloth.

 "You!" She waved the shirt.

  "Oh there she is. Let's go." The three ran into The Birdcage, Avery chasing them and swearing in Latin.

"So, what did the bubbles say?" Peggy asked as she took in the room.. She'd never been to a DHS party and gods was it a sight. It was completely dark, the only light coming from people who had glow in the dark items. Peggy could barely make out Alex, the only thing that glowed the paint stains on their jacket and palms.

  "What?" They said, finishing their drink. Peggy repeated their question louded, having to yell over the loud techno music to be heard. "It's dreamspeak."

  "I know, I can't read dreamspeak."

  "Really?" Peggy couldn't really make out Alex's face, but she was sure she had that prank planning expression on. "Good to know."

  "Come on, what did it say?" Alex pulled Peggy a little closer.

  "Alex loves Peggy." They whispered, kissing her. When they pulled away, Peggy saw some of the glow in the dark lipstick Max had lent her had transferred to Alex. Peggy smiled. 

"See something you like?"

  "Many somethings."

  "Tell me?"

  "Later." Peggy pulled Alex onto the dance floor. "Right now, I wanna dance."

 "That can be arranged." 

The End

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Chapter 24

Alex had been dossing in and out of consciousness for a bit. They had a pounding headache and everything hurt. What had that lake cryptid done?

“Alex?” Was that Peggy? Alex laid perfectly still. Maybe if they didn’t move, Peggy would leave. “Gods, you look terrible. I guess this is why we don’t feed the thing in the lake, huh?” Peggy let out a weak laugh. “I-I don’t know if you can hear me, but I-I was worried. When Max told me you were hurt, I-I didn’t know what to do. I-I love you Alex.”

  “Then why did you break up with me?” Alex thought. 

  “I didn’t want to.” Peggy said, as if she had read their mind. “But, Jack said if I didn’t they’d tell everyone about my parents. Which is stupid I know, cause anyone who cares that my parents are cr-cryptid hunters aren’t worth it but,” Alex hears the sound of Peggy sitting in a chair. “I had this girlfriend Willa and she didn’t take it well. She couldn’t even look at me near the end. I worried, I mean, I don’t think I could take losing you Alex.” She took their hand. “And you may hate me forever, but-”

  “I don't hate you.” Alex said softly, opening their eyes. 

 “Alex, y-you’re awake. D-did you hear all that?”

  “I did.” Peggy squeezed their hand. 

  "I'm so, so sorry."

  "Shut up and kiss me." Peggy laughed, a real one this time and kissed Alex.

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Chapter 23

Peggy sat in the Skyline dinner picking at her poutine while Jill went on about something to do with the Library of Alexandria, she wasn't really paying attention. It reminded her of Alex and the way they had talked about spray painting. Jill even talked with her hands like Alex did, nearly hiding a waitress in the face a few times.

  "Anyway, a group of us go through the library monthly-ish to search for the remains. You could come if you wanted."

  "Huh. Oh, yah. Sounds fun."

  "Is everything alright? You seem distracted."

  "No, it's fine. Just tired." Jill nodded. "So, how's the burger?"

  "Good. How's your poutine?" Peggy went to respond, but stopped when she saw another student come in. It's Max, Alex's friend. She tried to avoid his gaze, but he caught it.

  "Peggy." He came over, his eyes looking more concerned than angry.

 "Max, everything ok?"

  "Peggy's in the hospital." Peggy's eyes went wide. "They were out walking by the lake and I'm not really sure what happened, but apparently Herbert came into the Barn screaming and when they followed him, they found Alex lying by the lake unconscious."

 "Are they okay?" Max blinked.

  "Well they are in the hospital, so I would say no. They're stable and what not, still asleep." 

  "Can I see them?"

  "Um, yah." Peggy stood up and went to follow Max.

  "Um, Peggy?" Peggy looked back to see Jill looking very confused. "We're on a da-"

  "I don't like you." Jill got a sad look in her eyes. "I mean, I like you, ou're a great girl Jill, but I don't like you thr way you want me to and I don't want to go out with you." 

  "Why did you ask me out then?"

  "It's a long story. Ask Jack, they'll explain everything." Jill seemed to understand. Peggy turned to Max. "Lead the way." They two headed out into the night.

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Chapter 22

"Have you moved from there since yesterday?" Alex peaked out from under the pile of blankets to see Max standing under the hammock with a black bag.

  "I've eaten. And I went to Tea Time."

  "And classes?"

  "Nova took notes for me." He nodded. "What's in the bag?"

  "Come down and find out." Alex sighed, but shook off the pile of blankets and climbed down. Max pulled out two bottles of alcohol and a tub of ice cream. "Thought we could make some boozy milkshakes." Alex gave a weak smile and followed Max into the kitchen. They slid into a chair as Max went looking for a blender. They tried not to think of how similar this was to when Peggy had been here. 

  "You wanna talk about anything?" Max asked  as he poured ice cream and booze into the blender.

  "Not really." They paused in talking while the blender wirled Then, "I thought it was all going so well. She was so nice and funny. I thought, I thought." Alex buried their face in their arms. "I wish I knew what went wrong."

  "I'd normally say people fall apart, but this does seem a little weird." Max placed a glass in front of them. "I could do some digging, Avery has a few buddies in DLH and DCM."

  "Avery has friends?"

  "I know, shocking." They both laugh a little. "Wanna plan a prank or something?"

  "I think I'm gonna go for a walk by the lake." Max nodded. "I'll text you later?" Max nodded and gave Alex a hug. They grabbed their milkshake and went outside.

Alex lost track of how long they had been walking in circles around the lake. They had long since finished the milkshake and were feeling a little tipsy. The sun was starting to set.

  "I should get back." Alex said aloud. " Being out late in the woods alone, that's not good right?" They looked down at the glass in their hand and saw there was a little bit of milkshakes left. "Wanna sip lake cryptid?" They called, then went down to the shore and poured it into the dark water. Alex saw what they thought was a tentacle shoot out and hit them, then everything went black

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Chapter 21

Peggy looked at her phone. She had been texting with Jill for the past few minutes, trying to figure how to ask her out. 

 "This is stupid." She said to her empty dorm. "Why am I doing this? So what if Jack tells everyone my parents are cryptid hunters? No one who really mattered would care." Then she remembered Willa, how upset she had been. The week after she found out, the last week they were still dating, she had barely spoken to her or even looked at her. Peggy didn't think she could take it if Alex looked at her that way.

Peggy: Hey, you wanna get dinner before Book Club?

Jill: Really?

Jill: Yes. Totally 

Jill: Meet at the Skyline Dinner at 6? 

Peggy: Sounds great

Peggy tossed her phone to the side and flopped back on her bed. She should get ready for tonight. She looked at the chair in her room, where the sweater she wore last week was. Gods, had it only been a week? Peggy sighed as she got up, digging through her closet for something to wear. She found the band shirt from their first date hanging up. She'd forgotten she hadn't given that back to Athena yet. Athena. Gods, what would she say about this? Probably what she had said when Willa and her broke up.

  “If she can’t see past your parents, then she’s not worth your time.” Her friend’s voice echoed in her head

  “Would Alex care?” She wondered aloud. “Probably not right? It’s not like my parents are trying to take over the world or anything. Just trying to kill every cryptid. No big deal right?” Peggy groaned and flopped back on her bed, looking up at the blank ceiling. She wondered what Alex was doing right now

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Chapter 20

"Whatcha drawing?" Max asked, leaning over Alex's shoulder. 

  "Mural ideas." Alex said, not looking up from h

their sketchbook. 

  "Ooo, where you painting it? The walls are kinda full" Max gestured to the barn walls, which are covered in all types of art. 

  "It's a ceiling mural. For Peggy."

  "You're painting a mural for Peggy!"

  "Yah." Alex looked up at Max, who's wearing a fake hurt look. "What?"

  "You've never painted anything for me. Me! You're very best friend."

  "I did that fibonacci painting for your birthday a year ago."

  "But never a mural." He flopped dramatically into a chair. "Oh, I'm being replaced aren't I?"

  "No one could ever replace you Max." Alex said. Just then their phone went off. Alex picked it up.

  "See, you're re-hey!" Max yelped as Alex chucked a pillow at his head. 

  "Calm down drama queen." Alex said, looking at their phone. 

 Peggy: Um so

Peggy: I don't need you to paint a mural 

Alex: Oh. Okay

Alex: We still meeting for pie before Book Club😉?

Peggy: No

Alex: Oh. Okay

Alex: Is everything alright?

Peggy: I don't

Peggy: I don't think this is working

Alex: What do you mean?

Peggy: I want to break up

 "What?" Alex said, staring at their  phone.

  "Trouble in paradise?" Max said, looking over from the chair.

  "Peggy wants to break up."

  "What? I thought everything was going well? You're painting her a mural!" 

  "So did I." Alex muttered.

Alex: Why?

Peggy: This just, isn't working.

Alex tossed their phone into another chair and grabbed another pillow. They buried their head into it.

  "Alex.' Max sat beside them and wrapped his arms around them. "I'm sorry."

  "It's fine." They muttered, shoving Max off. "I'm gonna go lie down for a bit." Max grabbed their hand as they headed over to the dorms.

  "I'm here if you need anything." He said, squeezing hard. 

  "Thanks."

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Chapter 19

Everything was not fine. Peggy reread the text for the tenth time.

Jack: I know your secret. Meet me in the DLH library in 5 minutes.

Her mind was racing. Was Jack talking about what she thought they were? She didn't know of any other secrets she had.

 "Peggy. Good to see you." Jack smiled as they sat down across from her. “How are you?”

 “Skip the pleasantries Jack, what do you want?" 

  "I've noticed you've been getting pretty close to that DCD kid. Alex is their name, right?"

  "Yah. And?"

  "See, Jill has a crush on you. Has since last year. She never did work up the courage to ask you out. And now she's upset that you're dating someone else. And I can't stand to see her upset." 

  "What are you getting up?" Peggy asked, worried this was going in the direction she thought it was

  "You're a smart girl, I think you know." Jack leaned in, with a smile that was just a bit unnerving. "You're going to break up with Alex and start going out with Jill."

  "What? Absolutely not." Peggy said. "Jill is great, but I'm not breaking up with Alex.”

  "You will. Or I'll tell everyone about your parents." Peggy's stomach dropped.

  "How did you find out about that?"

  "I have my ways. It's just a mystery. And I love mysteries." Jack pulled a green book put from their jacket and slid it across the table. It was Hunting Cryptids, her parents book. "Something tells me people here won't be too happy to learn about your parents being cryptid killers."

  "No one would care." Peggy said. "We don't judge people for our parents here." 

  "You wanna test that theory?" Peggy didn't say anything. She really didn’t. Sure, they didn't judge people for their parents being corrupt politicians or sketchy businesspeople. Hell, a Turner went here and people were mostly fine with it. No one would care about hers, right? "You have until the end of the day. Or everyone will get a copy of this," Jack held up the book. "As a present." With that, Jack left. 

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Chapter 18

About a week after The Book Club Kiss , Alex was in Peggy's room. They were lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Peggy stood beside them, watching them.

  “Any ideas?” Peggy asked after several minutes of silence.

  “Definitely.” Alex sat up. “Sketchbook." Peggy tossed the book Alex had asked her to hold. They opened it up to a blank page and started drawing. “I’m thinking anglerfish, jellyfish, lots of deep sea cryptids. Dark blues, forced perspective. Would you want some glow in the dark elements?”

  “Is that even a question?”

  “Just checking.” Alex smiles and closes the book. "I'll draw some sketches, show them to you. You can pick your favourite."

  "Sounds great!” They sat in silence for a moment. “So, do I have to pay you or anything?”

  “Oh um, no. On the house.” 

  “You sure?” Alex thought for a moment.

  “Tell you what, you take me on another date and we’ll call it even.” Peggy smiled.

  “Deal.” She stuck a hand out. “Shake on it?” They did and Alex used the hand to pull Peggy down beside her. “Hello.” Peggy said, taking Alex’s hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it.

  “Hello.” Alex tapped the cover of their sketchbook. “So, have you ever been to a DHS party?”

  “Nope, never could find a guide.”

  “Well, I was thin-” Alex was cut off by Peggy’s phone buzzing. “I thought I put that on silence. Sorry, keep talking.” Peggy pulled out her phone, she had a jellyfish phone case Alex noted. 

  “Well, I thought may- is everything okay?” Alex asked as Peggy’s eyes went wide. She looked up, a smile that was just a little too fake on her face.

  “Oh um, yah. I just, forgot I need to meet someone to pick up a, book.” Peggy said. “In 5 minutes.”

  "Oh. Okay. It's almost Tea Time anyway, I'll head out. I'll text you later?"

  "Yah, definitely." Peggy nodded a little too quickly.

  "You sure everything's alright?"

  "Yah. Everything's fine." 

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Chapter 17

“So, I’ve never actually dueled before.” Alex said as they got into the dueling chamber. The room was well padded. “Is there a protocol or something?”

 “Not really. Don’t kill your opponent, quippy one liners are highly encouraged.” Peggy says, holding up her blade. “Ready?” 

  “Yep!” Peggy and Alex circled each other for a moment. Peggy made the first strike and Alex raised their blade to block it. Alex pushed the sword aside easily. “Don’t go easy on me now DUE.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it DCD.’ She said, holding out her sword. Alex raised their sword above their head. Peggy did the same and they collided with a clang. “It was so obvious what you were about to do there.” Peggy said, leaning in a little. 

  “Subtle isn’t my strength.” Alez said, pushing down on the blade. Peggy smiled and kicked at Alex’s knee. They jumped back. “Owe.”

  “You’ve been de-capped,” Peggy said, clearly proud of herself.

  “That’s a terrible pun.” Alex replied, pointing their sword out. Peggy tapped the tips of their blades together.

  “You have a point there.” Alex groaned. “You love my puns.”

  “Alas, you are correct.” Alex stabbed at Peggy, who spun out of the way. Peggy swiped at Alex’s foot with her own, throwing them off balance and causing them to fall. 

  “Do you yield?” Peggy asked, holding out her sword. 

  “I do indeed.” Peggy threw her sword to the side, Alex did the same. Peggy offered Alex her arm, which they used to pull her down. She screamed as she landed on top of Alex, faces an inch away from each other. Peggy blushed, Alex was sure their face was just as red.

  “So, what now?” 

  “You know, maybe it’s the adrenaline, but I’d very much like to kiss you right now.”

  “You read my mind.” Peggy leaned down and kissed her. They stayed like that for a few moments before there was a loud bang on the wall

  “Hey! No making out in the dueling room!” Someone yelled. Peggy pulled away and looked at the window. Jack, a DCM student known for summoning demons, was standing there.

 Peggy rolled her eyes.

  “Apologises Jack.” Peggy got off of Alex and offered a hand Alex took and let her pull them up. “Well, that was fun." Peggy laughed.

 "Yes, yes it was."

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Chapter 16

Alex just stood there, taking in the room. There were a number of small forges where small groups of people hammered metal. Others sat in small alcoves of blankets, laughing while they sharpened their blades. There was another room separated by the rest by a clear window where two people were dueling. Instrumental music played in the background and the whole room was dimly light. There was an entire wall of first aid kits. Swords. This was a swords club.

  "So, what do you think?" Peggy asked. 

  "This is so cool!" Alex said. "Why have I never heard about this?"

  "It's a word of mouth thing." Peggy said, smiling. "Come on." She pulled her towards one of the forge. A girl with a large mask was there, pulling a piece of red hot iron from the forge. "Athena!" The girl, Athena, took off her mask.

  "Peggy! Hey!" She turned Alex. "You're Alex right? I've heard so much about you. You want to make a sword?"

  "Um, yes!" Athena smiled.

  "I like you. Peggy, you know what to do?" Peggy nodded. "Have fun you two, please don't set anything on fire." Athena put her mask back down and went back to work. Alex turned to Peggy.

  “So, show me what to do!” 

Alex and Peggy sat in one of the alcoves. Peggy was showing them how to sharpen their newly made blade. 

 “Owe!’ Alex yelped, dropping the blade. 

  “You okay?” Peggy asked, taking Alex’s hand. 

  “Just a nick.” Peggy grabbed one of the first aid kits in the alcove. She pulled out a bottle of  rainbow band-aid.

  “Here.” She said, cleaning and covering the cut. “All better.” 

  “Peggy!” Alex looked over to see a girl heading over. She had black hair tied up in a bun and grey eyes. She wore a cream coat over a black tank top, a long skirt and about a thousand bracelets. “How’s it, who’s this?”

  “Jill, this is Alex. Alex, Jill.” Alex  waved.

  “Nice to meet you.” Jill turned back to Peggy. “I-I’ll see you later.” She said and left.

  “So.” Alex said as she left. An awkward silence was

  “Um, you wanna duel?” Peggy guestered to the dueling area, which was currently empty..

  “Yah!” Alex said, getting up and pulling Peggy to her feet. 

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Chapter 15

"Hi." Peggy said when Alex came out in an outfit that wasn't covered in paint. "No paint stains?"

 "Not anymore. I did laundry." Alex said, doing a spin. Peggy laughed. "So, pie?"

  "Yep." Alex went to leave, but Peggy grabbed their arm. "Not that way."

  "What?"

  "You're rocking with a DUE, we take the tunnels." Peggy lead Alex to an entrance nearby.  

  "Am I even allowed to be here?" Alex asked as they started down the danp tunnels.

  "Technically, no." Peggy stopped and turned to Alex. "Just don't tell anyone you were down here, k?"

  "I won't."

  "Pinky promise." Peggy said, holding out her pinky. Alex locked their pinky with hers. Peggy smiled and didn't let go, dropping their connected hands. "This okay?" Alex looked down at their hands.

  "Yah, yah." Alex looked back up. "So, pie?"

  "Pie!" Peggy pulled Alex along, 

"I can't believe you had pumpkin pie for dinner." Peggy said as they walked through the tunnels towards the DLH library. 

  "It is a vegetable and a perfectly acceptable dinner option." Alex protested. Peggy laughed. "So, where is book club held anyway?"

  "The DLH library."

  "Cool cool. And what book are we reading?"

  "Book?" Peggy stopped and looked at them, confused. Then it dond on her. "You don't know."

  "Know what?"

  "Oh, you'll see. Come on." Peggy grabbed Alex's hand and ran down the tunnel. It brought them just outside the library doors. 

  “Oo, cat!” Alex bent down and picked up one of the cats. “What’s his name?”

  “No idea. Come on.” Peggy made her way through the library, weaving through the bookshelves. Soon she found the little backroom. She turned around to Alex, who still held the cat. “Ready?"

  "Still no idea what's happening, but yah!" Peggy smiled and opened the door

[whensparksfly--a-dcdue-fanfic]

Chapter 14

Alex checked their watch for the twenty seventh time in 5 minutes.

  "A watched pot never boils." Max said as he put his hands on his friend's shoulders. "Peggy said she'd pick you up at 6, it's only 5:57." Alex sighed.

 "I know, I'm just excited. And nervous. What if I make a fool of myself?"

  "You? Impossible." 

  "And I look fine?" Alex asked, looking down at their outfit. Black pants, a bright coloured striped button up and ankle boots they had borrowed from Max.

  "You look wonderful. I want my boots back after all this." Max said. 

  "Maybe." Alex said. Max muttered something that sounded like "Clothing thief." Then, louder this time. "What are you doing for this date anyway?"

   "Dolores for pie, then book club."

   "Wait, book club or Book club?" Max asked, stressing the word book the second time.

  "Um, is there a difference?"

  "Well, I'm not sure A New School has a normal book club for one thing."

  "What does that mean?!" Max laughed.

  "Oh, you'll find out. Is that Peggy?" Alex looked out the window to see Peggy walking up. She was all dressed in blue and looked really pretty. 

  "Yah." Alex sighed. "Okay, I can do this. It's just a date with a really pretty girl. I can do this."

  "Heck yeah you can! Max said, giving Alex a slight shove. "Have fun."